God the Known and God the Unknown

(1879)

Prefatory Note:

God the Known and God the Unknown first appeared in the form of a series of articles which were published in The Examiner in May, June, and July, 1879. Samuel Butler subsequently revised the text of his work, presumably with the intention of republishing it, though he never carried the intention into effect. In the present edition I have followed his revised version almost without deviation. I have, however, retained a few passages which Butler proposed to omit, partly because they appear to me to render the course of his argument clearer, and partly because they contain characteristic thoughts and expressions of which none of his admirers would wish to be deprived.In the list of Butler's works God the Known and God the Unknown follows Life and Habit, which appeared in 1877, and Evolution, Old and New, which was published in May, 1879.It is scarcely necessary to point out that the three works are closely akin in subject and treatment, and that God the Known and God the Unknown will gain in interest by being considered in relation to its predecessors.